Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa accepts the challenge

The last thing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants Los Angeles to believe is that he has checked out of his job, that he's just going through the motions as he heads into his final years as mayor.

"Look, I've been here making the tough decisions," Villaraigosa said in an interview at his City Hall office. "But I am not beyond criticism.

"I am humble enough to recognize that what you are saying is that people want me to be more. I recognize that there need to be changes. That I need to get out there and get my story out."

Villaraigosa, who began the second year of his final term on July 1, was responding to a Daily News editorial challenging the mayor to show he is still engaged in the city's issues — on everything from day-to-day management to problems like pension reform, planning, environment and economic development.

The challenge comes amid the city's worst financial crisis in decades, with unemployment hovering above 12 percent, home foreclosures at near record highs and formerly middle-class families lining up at food banks and homeless shelters.

Warning that tough times still lie ahead, Villaraigosa said he's the man to lead Los Angeles out of the crisis. He also said he does not get enough credit for what he has done as mayor and some of the tough decisions he's had to make.

"In the last three years, we have had to cut more than $1billion in services," Villaraigosa said. "We reduced the work force by 3,500 people out of 14,000 in the civilian general fund work force.

"We have police officers and firefighters who have lost their overtime and are taking furlough days. Other cities are closing down police and fire stations and eliminating library service completely. We have cut it back to five days a week. When I first took office we opened new libraries and expanded hours to unprecedented levels. Now we have to cut back.

"Every city, county and state government is hurting because of the economy, and it could get even worse next year. You don't make those decisions if you are disengaged."

And, he said, the financial difficulties that everyone is experiencing have resulted in public disenchantment.

"There is probably not one official, other than President Obama, who can claim even a plurality of support," Villaraigosa said. "I understand that, and that's partly why I am accepting your challenge to me."

Villaraigosa said for more than the past year he had responded to earlier criticism that he was the "photo op" mayor interested in only promoting himself in the city.

"I probably overreacted to that," Villaraigosa said. "They said I was in constant campaign mode and I was running for the next office. That I was too busy being out to make decisions. Now, people are saying I need to get out more.

"I can almost guarantee if I do get out and do more, that criticism will come back. But I do recognize it is important to tell what we are doing."

Among his other key decisions, he said, was to remain mayor rather than run for governor.

"I felt I had to stay here because of the problems we have and deal with them," Villaraigosa said. "And I look at this job as the last public service job I will have. I am making the decisions to make this a better city, even with all we are facing.

"We are still in a crisis and I am going to have to lead us out of it. We can't do it alone. But we need to address this crisis."

Villaraigosa said he agrees with critics such as former Mayor Richard Riordan, who has complained about spiraling pension costs, on some of the problems facing the city and he has tried to address them.

Spiraling pension costs have been making big dents in the budgets of city, county and state government in recent years. Last year, the city contributed $653million to its two pension systems, and some officials project the figure could double to $1.3 billion within four years. Riordan has suggested the pension costs will force the city to declare bankruptcy.

Critics have said pension costs have been allowed to balloon because elected officials throughout California, but especially in Los Angeles, have been too friendly and generous with government employee unions.

"We will have pension reform on the ballot next year," Villaraigosa said, adding details are being worked out.

He has also called on unions to make even more concessions by accepting a 5 percent voluntary pay reduction.

"I have taken a 16 percent cut, because you lead by example," Villaraigosa said. "My office has taken more furloughs than any other office in the city."

The decisions of the past two years have involved the early retirement program worked out with the unions, the start of layoffs that will be spread out through this year and the need to raise rates at the Department of Water and Power.

All of those decisions have been controversial, and have generated fuel for the mayor's critics.

The DWP, in particular, has generated intense conflict with the City Council and local activists, who bristled at the large series of rate hikes the utility sought. During the tense council standoff, the DWP threatened to withhold $73 million from the city budget if it didn't get its rate hike, a move that critics likened to extortion and City Controller Wendy Greuel later said was unjustified.

"I didn't wake up one day and say we need to raise rates," Villaraigosa said. "But we had this report we were losing millions of dollars each year. We were faced with a downgrade in our ratings by Fitch and we were losing $6 million a month."

The mayor also denied assertions that he has shifted responsibility for running the city to others, particularly Austin Beutner, who has the title of first deputy mayor for economic development and has been serving as interim general manager of the Department of Water and Power.

"He comes in here and tells me what he wants to do," Villaraigosa said. "But I make the decision. When you're a manager, you delegate. I have good people and I trust them."

Villaraigosa, who broke his elbow in a bicycle accident last weekend, said he is still in some pain from the operation to repair it from eight different breaks, which involved placing a metal plate and several screws in his arm.

His right hand is swollen to twice its normal size.

"My elbow was between the size of a tennis ball and a grapefruit almost immediately," Villaraigosa said, adding a decision was made not to call for paramedics.

"Fortunately, my security was there and they took me to the hospital."

What did impress him, he said, was the response from witnesses. One person, on a bicycle, sped away to get him an ice pack. Residents also rushed out with towels and ice to try to help.

"They didn't know I was the mayor until I took off my helmet and sunglasses," Villaraigosa said. "I feel blessed it wasn't worse."

Villaraigosa said he has decided against taking time off, including a Monday appearance at an animal shelter where his girlfriend, newswoman Lu Parker, organized a volunteer event and, on Thursday, appearances at an anti-gang summer night lights program. He also has been working from the Getty House, the mayor's official residence.